Household saving is defined as the difference between a household’s disposable income (wages, income of the self-employed and net property income) and its consumption (expenditures on goods and services.)

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November 10, 2016

By Ryan Tracy

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Donald Trump's transition team promised to dismantle the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, signaling the incoming administration will seek to remake the way the U.S. oversees the financial sector.

Tuesday's Republican election sweep and Mr. Trump's commitment to focus on the issue have the GOP salivating over a litany of Dodd Frank changes that until recently stood little chance of avoiding President Barack Obama's veto.

The long list includes everything from regulatory exemptions for community banks and regional banks to a new regime for insurers and asset managers to significant curbs on the federal government's recently expanded influence over consumer-finance products, such as mortgages and payday loans.

The brief note on Mr. Trump's new website was the first time since Tuesday's election that the president-elect addressed financial regulatory policy. It was consistent with Mr. Trump's campaign rhetoric, blaming the Obama administration's signature response to the financial crisis for a tepid economy and promising to "replace it with new policies to encourage economic growth and job creation," but providing few details.

Another sign Mr. Trump may make Dodd-Frank overhaul a priority may be the news that his transition team is considering as a candidate for Treasury Secretary one of the leading critics of Dodd-Frank on Capitol Hill. People familiar with the matter said that in their preliminary discussions about possible candidates to fill that slot, they are looking at Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, who has crafted a deregulatory alternative to the 2010 law.

Whether Mr. Trump can keep his vow to upend Dodd-Frank and how far those changes will reach depends in large part on what happens in Congress. Financial regulation hasn't been mentioned by Mr. Trump as something he would thrust on the White House's agenda during his first 100 days in office, and Republicans are tempering expectations. "I don't think that you're going to see major efforts to throw out Dodd Frank wholesale," said a person who has advised the Trump campaign on regulatory policy.